Vehicle top-support.



B. 0. SMITH & D. HORVITZ,

v VEHICLE TOP SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED JAN.31,1913.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.-

INI/ENTORS jeZdc/z 675% WITNESSES 75$ ATTORNEYS nnrrn sra'rs VEHICLE TOR-SUPPORT.-

mar-nor,

Specification of Letters Patent:

Patented (lot. 1913.

Apnl'icat lonfiled .1 anuary 31, 1913. 7 Serial No. 745,393.

lb aZZ whom, it may concern;

Be. it; known that we, BELDIN; G. SMITH and Dev nv Honvirz, citizens of the. United States, and, residents of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have made certain new and useful Improvementsv in Vehicle Top-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in devices for supporting extensiontops of vehicles, such as buggies, automobiles, and the like, andjit consists in the combinations, constructions and advantages herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention; is toprovide bowsfor extension tops which do not necessitate the use of bolts or pins, but which are provided with sockets arranged to receive lugs so that the bows may be immediately shifted without the necessity of withdrawing bolts o-rcotter pins.

A further object of our invention is to provide bows having sockets of the type described above in which the more opening or closing of these bows will cause the lugs to bind in the sockets so that there is no danger of rattling of the bows either when the top is extended'or when it is closed. 7 7 Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification and the novel features of the device willbe particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

()ur invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a r setc-f bows showing one embodiment of our invention,Fig. 2 is an enlarged section along the line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged section along the line 8.3 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a lug on one bow and a socket on the adjacent bow which receives the lug, Fig. 5 isua perspective view showing a lug on one bow and a socket on the base member of another bow for receiving the lug, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of one of thebows provided with sockets arranged to receive another bow, part of the view being in section for the sake of clearness.

In carrying out our invention we provide a series of bows. These bows are preferably made of metal tubing and may be of any size. Inasmuch as the invention consists in means for supporting and preventing the rattling of the bows only so much the bows as is. sufficient for; a clear de. 'scription of the. invention is illustrated inthe drawing. These bows. are designed; to support an extension topv (not shown) In ig. 1 wehaveshown a: portion of the,

bow l which is provided with an, integral;

casting 2 brazed or. secured, in any other 1 suitable manner to the end! of the member. 1. This casting is prov1dedwi th an, eye 24 are ranged to receive a, pivot pin 3 which fastens the castingto a bracket 4 carried: upon the arm of the rear seat 5. The bracket 4.

DJEIy bGOf any suitable shape without departing from the spirit. of the invention.

TEN. E 1

- Av how 6 is. pivotally securedto the casting.

2 (at-7. The opposite side of; the casting. is; of the shape best shown in Fig. 5. It ispro fvided with a. hook-like portion 2 and with abutment member29. The space between this hook-like portion and the abutment member forms a socket 2}? extending up be:

bind the book, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

A third how '8. is. provided and the end of the b0 is. offset, as shown at 8 iinFig. 5,

and is provided with a. pivot pin 8 having a head 8 The pin 8 'is adapted,- to enter the socket 2 and to be forced up into the end of the socket behind the hook 2 as will be explained later. Carriedby the bow 8 are two brackets 9 and; 10, The lower bracket is provided with-a socket 9 having a lateral bend 9 as shown in Figs. 4 and 6,

while the upper bracket 10 has a socket 10 having'a bend 10 extending. inthe opposite direction from the bend 9 The bracket 10 is also provided with a flange 1O whose purpose will be explained later. A fourth or front bow 11 is provided which has. a

pivot pin 11*. At one end of this. pivot pin and forming an integral part of the bow is an elongated lug 11 having a curved periphery, while at the opposite end of the pin is a similar lug 11, the longer dimensions of these two lugs. being substantially, at right angles to each other as, shownin Fig. 4. It will be understood that it is notv necessary that they be exactly at right angles, but that the longer dimensions of the lugs shall have an angular relation one to I the other. The bows 6,1 and 8 are provided with sockets 12 arranged to receive guide members 13 on the bows 1, 8 and 11 respectively.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood. Fig. 1

represents the normal position of the bows when the top (not shown) is down or folded. In this position the bow S rests on the bottom 2 which acts as a fulcrum to force the pin 8 up behind the hook 2 The bow is therefore locked, and it is not only locked, but it is kept from rattling. The bow 11 is held in the socket or bracket 9. The eccentric lug 11", it will be observed, bears on the bows 9 of the lug 9, thereby forcing the pin 11: up into the bent end 9 of the socket. This looks the bow 11 and also keeps it from rattling. Now when it is desired to extend the top the latter is first pulled forwardly, thereby turning the bow 8 in its socket until it is far enough away from the fulcrum 2 to permit the pin 8 to be passed out of the slot 2 thereby freeing the bolt from the socket. The bow may be carried forward and placed in any socket (not shown) suitable to receive it. The forward movement of the top permits the bow 11 to rotate in its socket until the lug 11 has turned far enough to permit the pin 11 to be passed out of the socket 9". The bow 11 is then raised vertically and placed in the slot 10 of the bracket 10. When the top is now pulled forwardly the bow will swing outwardly into the position shown in Fig. 6 and the lug 11 will crowd the pin ll into the end portion 10 of the socket by the engagement of the end of the lug 11 with the flange 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. This will lock the bow in the socket and will also prevent it from rattling. In closing the top the bow 11 must be swung toward the bow 8 before the lug 11 will permit the pin 11 to pass through the socket 10 The bow may now be lifted out of the socket 10 and placed in the socket 9 of the lug 9. The how 8 is replaced in the socket 2 and when the bows are pushed together in the manner shown in Fig. 1 the abutment 2 will form a fulcrum against which the bow 8 bears,

* thereby crowding the pin 8* into the socket 2 behind the hook 2". Thus both the bows 8 and 11 are locked in position when the top is down.

e claim:

1. In a supporting device for an extension top, a bow provided with a pair of brackets, each having sockets bent at their inner ends, each bracket having an abutment portion, a second bow provided with a pin arranged to enter either of said sockets and having a pair of integral cam members, one of said cam members being an ranged to engage the abutment of one of said brackets for forcing the pin into the end of the socket, and the other of said members being arranged to engage the abutment of the other of said brackets for forcing the pin into the end of its socket.

2. In a supporting device for an extension top, a bow, a bracket secured on one side of said bow and being provided with a flange on one side thereof, said bracket having a socket disposed between the flange and the bow and being provided with a portion at its inner end bent toward the bow, a second bow provided with a pivot pin arranged to enter said socket and having a pair of 0blong cam members, the lines of the greater lengths of said cam members having an angular relation with one another and each of said cam members being disposed eccentrically of said pin, the turning of the pin in said socket serving to bring one of said cam members against said flange thereby crowding the pin into the bent end of the socket.

3. In a supporting device for an extension top, a bow, a bracket secured on one side of said how and being provided with a flange on one side thereof, said bracket having a socket disposed between the flange and the bow and being provided with a portion at its inner end bent toward the how, a second bow provided with a pivot pin arranged to enter said socket and having a pair of oblong cam members, the lines of the greater lengths of said cam members having an angular relation with one another and each of said cam members being disposed eccentrically of said pin, the turning of the pin in said socket serving to bring one of said cam members against said flange thereby crowding the pin into the bent end of the socket, and a second bracket having a socket arranged to receive the pin and being provided with an end bent away from the bow, the turning of the pin in the socket of the second bracket serving to bring the other of said cam members into engagement with the bows of the bracket thereby crowding the pin into the bent portion of the socket and locking the bow in position.

BELDIN C. SMITH. DAVID HORVITZ.

Witnesses ALBERT SMITH, CHAS. Lorms'ronrnn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pat nts, Washington, D. C. 

